Structural modeling and biochemical characterization of recombinant KPN_02809, a zinc-dependent metalloprotease from Klebsiella pneumoniae MGH 78578.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a Gram-negative, cylindrical rod shaped opportunistic pathogen that is found in the environment as well as existing as a normal flora in mammalian mucosal surfaces such as the mouth, skin, and intestines. Clinically it is the most important member of the family of Enterobacteriaceae that causes neonatal sepsis and nosocomial infections. In this work, a combination of protein sequence analysis, structural modeling and molecular docking simulation approaches were employed to provide an understanding of the possible functions and characteristics of a hypothetical protein (KPN_02809) from K.

UBC and YWHAZ as suitable reference genes for accurate normalisation of gene expression using MCF7, HCT116 and HepG2 cell lines.

Relative quantification of in vitro gene expression using real-time PCR requires stably expressed reference gene for normalisation. In this study, total RNA from MCF7, HCT116 and HepG2 cells were extracted and converted to cDNA using commercially available kit, and real-time PCR was then performed to analyse the expression levels of twelve reference genes to select the most ideal reference gene for accurate normalisation in gene expression study. geNorm and NormFinder software were used to analyse the stabilities of the reference genes, which showed a wide range of C(t) values.

Apoptotic effects of chrysin in human cancer cell lines.

Chrysin is a natural flavonoid currently under investigation due to its important biological anti-cancer properties. In most of the cancer cells tested, chrysin has shown to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis, and is more potent than other tested flavonoids in leukemia cells, where chrysin is likely to act via activation of caspases and inactivation of Akt signaling in the cells. Moreover, structure-activity relationships have revealed that the chemical structure of chrysin meets the key structural requirements of flavonoids for potent cytotoxicity in leukemia cells.